


Tempus Edax Rerum

by dyememono



Category: The Tarot Sequence - K.D. Edwards
Genre: ominous machinations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:35:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyememono/pseuds/dyememono
Summary: “Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not.”― Stephen King, The Green Mile
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	Tempus Edax Rerum

The Conductor stood in the center of Not and all attention was focused on her. She was still, eyes closed, head cocked to the side, listening to the ebb and flow of music being played by the orchestra. The notes resonated within her, flooding her mind, and she _saw_ them become reality. The musicians played the song she composed and though they only heard cacophony, they knew better than to question the Conductor. 

After all, her Will was their Will and through them, she was able to pluck strands of Now and Hereafter. The Conductor’s eyes snapped open and raised a hand. The orchestra fell silent and the musicians gripped their instruments in fear for there was only one reason, _She_ would make them stop. Her gaze swept across them and each frantically prayed she wouldn’t single them out. Their terror permeated the Not and turned their faces away in shame. 

“You,” the Conductor said, pointing at one of the players. To everyone’s surprise, it was one of the most experienced players she addressed, and the tension became suffocating.

“Again. From the five thousand seven hundred and thirty first movement. And pay better attention to my instructions.”

“My Lady?” the musician asked, dismayed.

Her expressionless face morphed into something terrible, and the musician flinched at the sight. The movement didn’t escape her attention and she cackled with dark delight.

“I won’t repeat myself.”

“Y-Yes, my Lady,” stammered the musician and sighed with relief when the Conductor closed her eyes again.

She waved her already raised hand gracefully and the music resumed. Raising the other one, she pointed at the musician again as a warning. The musician didn’t dare breathe or blink and when her hand jerked downwards, he altered the way he played without hesitation. The Conductor listened with her eyes still open for a heartbeat then with a satisfied nod, she closed them again.

The score she had composed was flawless, and any deviation was because of the musicians yet in this case, she was delighted by the change.

Unbeknownst to the musicians, the reason why she stopped the music was because one of the notes became discordant. Self-aware. It tried warning one of her most prized musical notes and had she not intervened, the music would’ve unraveled. With the alteration, one of her old enemies, the Spider entered the scene prematurely and predictably, her Little Light reacted the way she knew he would. By obliterating the discordant note and wiping him out of existence.

The Conductor smiled and the startled collective gasp of the orchestra made her grin. Her old enemies thought they had gotten rid of her by banishing her to Not but they were _wrong_. They thought they were players, masters of the Game, pushing pieces around on the board when in reality they were nothing more than her puppets. She allowed them to have the illusion of agency and freedom but ultimately, things were going according to her Plan. 

The Conductor enjoyed toying with her poppets and subtly providing hints and portents of her inevitable return, and it always filled her with glee when they went unheard and unseen. 

Her escape from Not grew ever closer and she would reclaim what was once hers.

And once she returns and stands in front of Them ―her wrecked, witless and misguided brothers and sisters; to the _betrayers_ and _traitors_ , she will proclaim:

**_“In thought and deed, in mind and heart,_ **

**_I claim what is mine by law and conquest._ **

**_Let it be known that from this moment forward,_ **

**_I am,_ **

**_As I always meant to be,_ **

**_The Voice and the Will of the Gods._ **

**_I am Arcana._ **

**_I am Arcanum._ **

**_I am the Eternal Empress of Atlantis.”_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Tempus Edax Rerum - Time, Devourer of All Things


End file.
